In China retail, 36 is the magic number for women’s footwear

Women seeking jobs selling footwear have very specific shoes to fill in Shenyang, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, where many outlets tend to hire staff that wears a size 36.

Same as in the EU, a Chinese size 36 is 23 centimeters, the equivalent of a women’s 5.5 in US or 4.5 in the UK.

The reason? Owners say women’s shoes look better on a size 36 foot.

“Compared with other women’s shoe sizes, a 36 has the best effect,” a shop owner at a large shoe mall in the city told a video blogger for Pear Video.

“A bigger foot doesn’t look as good,” without elaborating.

This owner is not alone. Many help wanted ads posted in the mall for shoe shop assistants and managers specify a size 36 preferred.

“We all wear a size 36 at our store,” said another shop assistant.

While none offered to explain why a size 36 looks better, clerks revealed that women’s shoes on display in most stores are the same magic number.

“A 36 is the industry standard. Factory samples come in a 36,” said a women’s shop assistant.

Many Sina Weibo users argued that such job requirement is unnecessary, as customers only care about how shoes look like on their own feet.

“Plus it’s all about looks anyway. If you’re good-looking, anything you wear looks good on you ,” said“Wangzh er ongyaoda ida xi ao ge ge .”